| Time: | 3.00pm | Place: | Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City |
| PRESENT: | Councillor Tricia Cowley(Chairman), Councillor Tom Brindley, Mrs D Levett(Unison), Chris Carter(Staff Consultation Forum), C Corr(Staff Consultation Forum). |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Strategic Director of Customer Services Corporate Human Resources Manager Human Resources Development Manager Committee and Member Services Officer. |
| ALSO PRESENT: |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 1 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from the Cllrs L. A Needham, J. Billing and L. Oliver. PLEASE NOTE: No District Councillors attended this Meeting as substitutes for those having given their apologies, so the meeting was inquorate. The Chairman therefore agreed that Notes, rather than Minutes, should be taken as a record of the Meeting. |
Noted | ||
| 2 |
MINUTES Minutes It was agreed that the Minutes of the JSCC meeting held on 21 March 2012 be confirmed as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman, subject to the following changes: - Minute 40, page 3 - Cllr T Brindley declared an interest in this item as he was a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme; - Minute 40, page 3 - the penultimate sentence should read: "The scheme would be career averaged and previous service would be protected." This omits the phrase "not be protected." |
Agreed | ||
| 3 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS No other business put forward for discussion at this Meeting. |
Noted | ||
| 4 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS The Chairman welcomed those present to the Meeting. She reminded Members that declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda and the nature of the interest, should be declared as either a prejudicial or personal interest at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a prejudicial interest should leave the room and not seek to influence the decision during that particular item. |
Noted | ||
| 5 |
STAFF CONSULTATION FORUM SCF Minutes 4 April 2012 SCF Minutes 2 May 2012 SCF Minutes 11 June 2012 The Corporate Human Resources Manager (CHRM) went through the Minutes of the meetings of the Staff Consultation Forum (SCF) held on 4 April, 2 May and 11 June 2012, set out below. 4 April 2012 - The SCF were interested in seeing the financial data from the Green Office Project. - ‘Bite size' workshops held were: IT Developments; Telephony Functionality; and Support for Managing Teams. - At the request of a member of staff, E-Lite was introduced. This is an electronic cigarette device for those wishing to cut down or give up smoking and it could be used on the 5th floor in the canteen only. - The 2012 Staff Survey results would shortly be published. - As a result of requests a TV had been installed on Floor 5 for the duration of the Olympics. - The Interim Chief Executive confirmed that he was willing to attend staff team meetings on request to get to know staff and vice versa. 2 May 2012 - Statistics and financial data was presented to the SCF as requested at the meeting of 4 April. - The Strategic Director of Customer Services (SDCS) advised that staff posts at Hitchin Town Hall would be affected by the report on the Museum and Community Facility at Hitchin Town Hall. Staff consultation had begun. - A reminder was given of the impending elections on 3 May. - The Howard Park project had been extremely successful with the public. - HR currently working on schemes for Childcare vouchers and Bikes for Work. - Gail Dennehy and Garry Melding were temporarily nominated through Shared Services as representatives of the SCF. 11 June 2012 - The SDCS advised that installation of Kalwall panels to replace windows at the North Herts Leisure Centre pool hall has significantly reduced the energy costs. - There were now 28 solar powered car park ticket machines in use in North Herts. - It was clarified that the Council needed approximately £500,00 in savings or income or a combination of both, each year for the next 5 years. It was suggested that income could be generated by Council-run crèches, school clubs, concessions etc. All staff were to be asked to consider options and report back to Cllrs Needham or Brindley. - Staff Survey results were now available on the Intranet. It was suggested that a paper on Staff Survey Results be considered for the next JSCC Meeting on 19 September 2012. The information provided in the three sets of Minutes of the Staff Consultation Forum was noted. |
Noted | ||
| 6 |
PEOPLE STRATEGY UPDATE Report The Corporate Human Resources Manager (CHRM) went through the report and advised that they were at a critical point regarding Shared Services. She said the decision was to be made at the end of July. It was pointed out that in Appendix B that the due date of the Flexible Working and Flexible Parental Leave was 31/03/2013, not 31/03/2012. The due date of the Apprentices Programme was also 30/03/2013, not 31/03/2012. The Committee were informed that the NHDC reorganisation had been completed at the end of December 2011 and the Staff Survey had been completed on 30/06/2012. Work had been done around long term absence and SERCO now ran the Occupational Health service, offering a good service at a lower price. Learning and The Council went to an Employment Tribunal, their first for nine years, which was successful. Members were informed that the Council's policies were robust and well-followed. Managers would be supported through their training. In Appendix A under the heading Absence, BV12 was a good-news story as half a day had been knocked off last year's figures. In addition, January and February's figures for 2012 were lower than in 2011. The Committee noted the progress against the People Strategy and HR People Strategy Work Plan for 2012/2013. Reason: The People Strategy supports the achievement of the Authority's key priorities. |
Noted | ||
| 7 |
LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME UPDATE Paper The Corporate Human Resources Manager (CHRM) presented an update on the Local Government Pension Scheme, emphasising that a deal had been struck, that the Career Average Revalued Earnings Scheme was very significant and that under the current pensions scheme, benefits will be protected up to 1 April 2014. SERCO had been the pension fund administrators but this had changed to LPFA. Under the Public Service Pensions Bill it was stressed that the key area was communications. |
Noted | ||
| 8 |
NATIONAL PAY UPDATE Paper The Corporate Human Resources Manager (CHRM) reminded the Committee that there had been no pay offers in 2010, 2011 or 2011 and that the last offer had been 1% in 2009. She explained that the employers had recently written to the Leaders of the local authorities to explain their concerns in relation to pay bargaining and their fears that national pay bargaining was at risk of disorderly fragmentation. The Corporate Human Resources Manager explained that the Employers carried out workshops each year ahead of the annual pay round and a clear message had come from the workshops nationally that councils could not afford any pay increases. The Committee agreed that a 0% pay rise was, in effect, a pay cut and even a 1% to 2% pay rise was still a pay cut, due to the cost of living. It was stated that the longer the situation went on, the more likely it was for employees to drift from local government employment to other employment. |
Noted | ||
| 9 |
STRATEGIC DISCUSSION PAPER CREATIVE CAREER DEVELOPMENT Discussion Paper The Human Resources Development Manager (HRDM) introduced the discussion paper on Creative Career Development. She stated that the current trends in the United Kingdom meant that there was no longer such a thing as a "job for life" and everybody had to take responsibility for managing their own careers. The HRDM advised that NHDC staff had been offered various courses such as Institute of Leadership and Management Level 3, Coaching and Mentoring and Job Evaluation, to ensure that they had interesting, accredited qualifications which would benefit both the organisation and individual. The Committee commented that: lateral movement by staff in organisations is very important; and as commuting to work is more common nowadays, the trend for homeworking balanced this out. The HRDM advised that those employees with a traditional view of employment could be disappointed and that the more opportunities provided to employees, the more job satisfaction they gained from their work. A final observation made by the SDCS was that the objectives of employees nowadays could include not just promotion, but job retention. The Committee agreed to note the discussion paper on Creative Career Development. |
Noted | ||
| 10 |
STRATEGIC FORUM DISCUSSION TOPICS Paper The Committee discussed the list of Suggested Discussion Topics presented by the Human Resources Development Manager and two subjects were chosen for the next meeting: The Paradox of Organisational Cost Cutting and its relation to The Staff Satisfaction Survey. |
Agreed | ||